Break It Down: Packaged Plays Against UConn

One offensive concept that has spread like wild fire through out college and pro football over the past few seasons is a concept known as "packaging" plays. In a packaged play, the offense will run two different plays at the same time, and the quarterback must read the defense and decide what to do with the ball. It usually pairs a basic run play with a screen to the other side of the formation, but a lot of air raid and other sophisticated passing offenses have packaged run plays with down field pass plays. In the article linked above, you can see how Oklahoma State would have Justin Blackmon run an isolated route based on the corner's leverage on the backside, in addition to the run play AND a screen. I've noticed the Dallas Cowboys have run this concept under Jason Garrett in more of a pro style offense, and Rutgers has modeled their package concept after them.

On first and ten from the UConn 14, Dave Brock called a packaged play out of a single back formation with a trey (TE and 2 WR) to the left, against Connecticut, who lined up in a 4-3 defense with a safety down in the box and an apparent zone blitz called. Gary Nova had the option of handing the ball off to Jawan Jamsion on an outside zone play to the left, or throwing to Mark Harrison on a quick screen to the right. (video, click to enlarge)

The corner was giving Harrison eight yards of cushion, and Nova took a quick peek to that side of the field before the snap and saw where the corner was positioned. With that much room to work with, the choice for Nova was very easy: he was going to throw to Harrison. He probably even decided that before the snap. Nova got the ball out quickly to Harrison, and Harrison took it from there, busting to the outside and breaking the tackle of both the corner and the safety who dropped out of the box to cover the deep portion of the field for the Scarlet Knights' lone offensive touchdown of the day.

This type of play always ensures the offense "has the chalk last", meaning, they can make the defense wrong every time, no matter what. Against sophisticated defenses that disguise their coverages and blitzes, this play may not work so well, but you won't see a lot of those types of defenses at the college level. The offense should always be right. Rutgers scored a touchdown against Arkansas with a packaged play, as well, and it will be interesting to see how they use it going forward. Dave Brock has been a little too reliant on screens so far this year, but this is a great first down play o keep the defense off balance. Giving Nova the option to either throw the screen or hand the ball off could ensure that the Scarlet Knight offense stays on schedule.